Editor:
For years city council announces “No Tax Increase this year, instead of No Tax RATE increase.
The tax rate, or “mil rate,” is the levy per $1K of assessed value of a property; B.C Assessment Authority increases assessment of most properties annually, so even if the tax rate is not increased, a taxpayer’s bill will increase due to this increase in assessed value. However politically advantageous for council to trumpet “no tax increase,” it is misleading to residents and disingenuous.
The revenue pressures described by council recently in budget discussions could be alleviated by dispensing with such programs as “Revitalization Tax Exemptions.” These exemptions grant for-profit corporate interests an exemption for five years on tax due to increased assessment on their property following what is considered to be “revitalization” – an actual example is a corporate landlord receiving this munificence for painting the exterior of his buildings.
Full fare paying residential taxpayers would love to have this exemption for property maintenance.
My tax bill increased 48 per cent over the last three years, and the amount on the bill due to the recreation complex increased 35 per cent in just one year - hence my disinclination to subsidize for-profit corporations by virtue of their being granted tax exemptions under a questionable rationale.
For the four year period of 2020 to 2023 inclusive, the total revitalization tax exemptions granted by the city was $2.1 million; one corporation was exempted from paying $1.6 million tax in this period.
The hundreds of thousands of extra dollars payable to the city annually in the absence of these dubious exemptions would lead to an increase in services available to residents and a possible decrease in tax bills.
The above figures are derived from the city’s annual reports, which display information regarding the city’s revenue, expenditures and tax exemptions granted. They are available online. Here’s a link to the latest 2023 Report. https://www.williamslake.ca/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/627
I am willing to pay higher taxes when legitimately warranted – but not if the increase is due to massive tax exemptions doled out to other taxpayers.
John Pickford
Williams Lake